Expedition 345 summary

Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Hess Deep Expedition 345 was designed to sample lower crustal primitive gabbroic rock that formed at the fast-spreading East Pacific Rise (EPR) in order to test competing models of magmatic accretion and the intensity of hydrothermal cooling at depth. The Hess Deep Rift was selected to exploit tectonic exposures of young EPR plutonic crust, building upon results from Ocean Drilling Program Leg 147 as well as more recent submersible, remotely operated vehicle, and nearbottom surveys. The primary goal was to acquire the observations required to test end-member crustal accretion models that were in large part based on relationships from ophiolites, in combination with mid-ocean ridge geophysical studies. The results of the IODP Hess Deep Expedition 345 provide a reference section for primitive fast-spreading lower crust that did not exist before. This highlights the necessity of ocean drilling to address questions related to the origin and evolution of the lower ocean crust.